Adventures in Parenting
by Hope Swings
Summary: The day-to-day obstacles and adventures of a single mother raising her son.
1. Shopping

**Adventures in Parenting **

X **Shopping** X

With an exhausted exhale, Kagome squeezed her eyes shut and pushed her hair away from her face. Her clothes felt too tight, too suffocating. It wasn't worth it. Why was she even he –

"Mama." Tiny hands tugged at the hem of her shirt, insistent in capturing her attention. She almost felt like ignoring the child chanting her name… quite loudly, in fact. "Mama, Mama, Mama, Mama, Mama, Mama, Mama, Ma –"

"What, Shiro?" she snapped, her eyes bursting open in a flash of harsh light and she turning to her son.

She hadn't meant to be so abrasive in her tone, but it was a very bad day and she hadn't slept very well the night before and –

This was getting her nowhere. Right now, her five-year-old son was on the verge of tears in the middle of a department store because she'd just yelled at him… and people were beginning to stare. God, they probably thought she was the worst mother in history now…

Shaking her head slightly, she pressed two fingers to her temple and knelt on the carpeted floor in front of her son. "Listen, sweetie," she whispered gently, knowing he would hear every word. She held his hand, grabbing his attention so he'd look at her instead of his Power Ranger sneakers. "Mama's having a really tough day and she's very sorry she took it out on you. Are you okay?"

The kindergartener nodded slightly, rubbing at his eyes with his tiny fists. He sniffled and glanced up at her hesitantly, a pout dimpling his chin. Kagome giggled softly and ruffled his bangs, almost hiccupping from her own tears choking up her throat.

"Now," she said resolvedly as she stood up, his hand still cradled in hers. "What'd you want to ask me?"

Shiro flashed her a sheepish look before holding up a red Power Ranger action figure. Kagome sighed and grimaced out a small smile. Shit. They were supposed to be shopping for school clothes, not new toys. And she really didn't have that much money to begin with… But she'd snapped at him and nearly made him cry…

Nodding her head reluctantly, she watched as he cheered and tossed the glossy plastic toy in the cart. There went the money she was going to spend on nicer new clothes for him… 'Well, I guess we're going to the sales rack…' she thought, attempting to be cheerful.

Shiro grinned up at her as he hung off the side of the cart with one hand, looking like a little monkey. Shaking her head with a small smile, she took hold of his hand once more. "Come on, Monkey Man. We've got more shopping to do."

Shiro merely grimaced in return and followed after his mother as she led them to the clearance racks on the other side of the store. Shopping was a girly thing to do. He hated it.

**And there we have it. Installment number one. Hope you all enjoyed it. There's not much for me to say… I'm trying something new though. All the "chapters" are going to be little snippets of the whole in the life of a single mother and her son. So it's not like my other pieces. Until next time! – Hope Swings**

**Disclaimer: I officially disclaim all characters and copyrighted material mentioned or used in all installments of "Adventures in Parenting."**


	2. Coupons

**Adventures in Parenting **

X **Coupons** X

"Hey, Mama."

Kagome looked up from the stack of newspapers that she was clipping coupons from to see Shiro jumping on the couch cushions. Silently groaning, she set her pair of scissors down and leveled a stare at the five-year-old. "I really wish you wouldn't do that."

Shiro grinned in response and stuck his legs out parallel to the couch, landing sitting down. Kagome just rolled her eyes. "What is it, Babe?" she asked, turning back to her coupon clipping.

"Well…" Shiro squirmed in his Power Ranger pajamas and socks. "My teacher was wondering if parents could come in and help with projects and stuff sometimes…"

Kagome didn't look up this time. "And…?"

"Well, could you?"

The young mother stared down at the freshly clipped 2 for 1 detergent coupon. Work took up all the time she had when she wasn't taking care of her son. She had to work over-time and worked at a second part-time job every other night in order to send him to his school and then to a good day-care center afterwards. Could she afford to take time off to help with his class? Glancing over at her hopeful child, she sighed and closed her eyes in defeat.

"We'll see."

She was attacked from the side as her son launched himself at her neck for a hug. They fell to the side between the couch and coffee table, the scissors still in her hands. "Thank you! Thank you thank you thank you!" Shiro half-yelled in her ear. Kagome could only laugh and hug him back.

**Really short, I know. But I've been steadily working on this for the past week and it was getting really long. I didn't want it to be one long installment, so I broke up each different section into separate installments. This is the shortest one so far though. - Hope**


	3. Pets

**Adventures in Parenting **

X **Pets** X

Kagome stared at the blue-trimmed storefront. Shiro had been begging for a pet since a little boy in his class, Arthur Steinwell, brought his family of hamsters to school two months ago. He'd claimed that he didn't care what kind of pet he had as long as he had one, but she knew that he'd been eying the puppies in the pet store window since he was three. Damn that Arthur Steinwell.

Sighing, she clutched her purse to her chest and stomped across the street to stand in front of the window full of excited, hyper puppies. Oh, why did she have to be such a pushover when it came to her son? 'Because you're a good mother and you spoil the crap out of the kid,' she grumbled mentally.

Wanting to cry, she dragged her feet into the pet store and resignedly walked up to the teenager behind the counter. The pimple-faced boy looked up at her and smiled, self-consciously tugging on his red smock.

"How can I help you, miss?"

Kagome slanted him a slight glare. Who was he to call her 'miss'? She was a mother, for Chis'ssake! She at least deserved a 'ma'am'.

"My _son_ is begging for a pet," she said.

The teenager sighed sadly, catching on that she was off-limits. Nodding his head, he smiled weakly back at her. "What kind of animal does he want?"

Kagome pursed her lips in thought. She stared around at the birds, fish, rodents and other domesticated animals. What would be easy to take care of and within her price-range?

She glanced up at the gangly boy. "What would you suggest?"

"Well, how old is he?" he asked, a little in shock that someone was asking for his advice.

"Well, he's five and really energetic. But I don't think that I want another ball of energy bouncing around to run after all the time," she said thoughtfully. "I want him to be able to feed it and care for it by himself, so one that doesn't require that much upkeep and can be can survive a forgetful kindergartener. It should be sturdy."

The boy gazed around the store thoughtfully. "Well, fish die pretty easily, but they're easy to replace too. If you want something cheap and easy, I'd say go for a goldfish," he suggested, leading her over to the fish tanks.

Kagome stared into the tanks at the colorful fish swimming around. That seemed too… impersonal. She glanced up at him. "What else you got?"

"Um…" he walked over to the hamster cages, but Kagome shut that down with a firm 'No.' She did not want a constant reminder of that child that put the idea in her son's head about a pet. 'Besides,' she reasoned in her head. 'They bite and smell.'

"Parakeet?" the teenager asked.

Tapping her chin, she stared at the large birdcage in the middle of the store where the birds were kept. One of the small yellow birds lifted its tail and pooped. Another blue and grey one screeched loudly and flew about the cage in a flurry of feathers. Kagome balked and backed away. Birds were a no-go.

The teenager sighed. This lady didn't like any of his suggestions and he was running out of animals! "What about a cat or a dog?"

"Shiro hates cats, just like his father. I had to get rid of my old cat, Buyo, when I had him. And he loves dogs, absolutely loves 'em, but that's too much responsibility for right now… And we're running on a tight budget," Kagome muttered the last part out, half-ashamed of her predicament.

They both stood by the counter, silently mulling over the different types of animals that would be suitable. Finally, the clerk snapped his fingers in triumph and jogged to the back of the store towards the fish tanks again. Kagome followed after him, trying to dodge the chew toys jutting out into the aisles from their shelves.

"Hey, we already ruled out fish, remember?"

"This isn't a fish," he explained as he reached into a tank. "It's a –"

Kagome screamed and ran to a different aisle. "Don't get that thing near me! It's disgusting!"

The boy just stared at her confusedly. "What? It's just a tarantula."

"No, it's a spider! I hate spiders!" Kagome cowered further away from the furry arachnid.

"Oh, sorry…" he put the tarantula back in it's tank and perused the shelves of tanks in front of him. "How 'bout a snake? Little boys like snakes."

Kagome shot him a flat stare from around the corner of the aisle. "No."

"Uh… lizard? You just feed them crickets."

She walked up to stand next to him and stare at the reptiles sunning themselves under their heat lamps. They seemed easy and like something a little boy would like… Dragons and sharks were dream pets for boy Shiro's age. Kagome shuddered and diverted her gaze when she watched one eat a cricket. Crickets were disgusting…

Then, her eye caught a small black thing swimming in a tank. It didn't look like a fish… She stepped closer and realized that it was a turtle. "Hey… what about a turtle?"

"That's a pretty good choice too. They're simple, easy to take care of for the most part… And they'll eat essentially anything. We recommend goldfish or dry turtle food though. It's a good first pet for little kids, I suppose."

Kagome stared down at the tiny aqueous reptile. It'd stay in one place because of its tank. And Shiro would really like choosing pebbles and fake plants and stuff to put in the tank. He could feed it himself and change the water… It was perfect! Smiling up at the store clerk, she nodded her head.

"That sounds much better. Thank you…" she glanced at his name tag. "Jonathan."

Jonathan smiled bashfully. "It was nothing…" he mumbled.

"Now," she said, turning to the array of tanks, food, and… turtle toys…? They had those? She mentally shrugged. 'I guess some people really love their turtles…'

"You can help me with picking out some stuff for my new turtle."

**Well, there's number three. I kept changing my mind about whether it'd be a puppy or a turtle, but dogs can be so expensive and take up so much time. And lots of people do dogs, myself included in past pieces I've worked on. So a turtle it was. I like turtles. Except when you feed them goldfish… That part's gross. – Hope**


	4. Birthdays

**Adventures in Parenting **

X **Birthdays** X

"Alright, Munchkin, time for bed!" Kagome exclaimed, turning off the TV.

"Aw, but Mama!"

Kagome just wagged a finger at him before she hefted him up off the couch into her arms. They'd been watching Wall-E and she'd even let him eat dinner at the coffee table as a special treat. It was his birthday and she felt bad about not being able to do anything really special. So they'd watched a rented movie and ate Kraft macaroni and cheese while watching it.

"Just because it's your birthday doesn't mean that it's not a school day tomorrow, mister. It's already past your bedtime."

"But it's barely even 9:00! I'm six now, Mama. I should be allowed to stay up later. I'm a big boy!" Shiro puffed out his chest, his hands bunched into fists on his hips.

Kagome tried not to laugh at the image of her son in his green panda shirt and Batman underwear and faded red socks on his stool in front of the sink posing like a super hero. Covering her smile with a hand, she merely ruffled his hair, stepping around him to pull out their toothbrushes and toothpaste from the medicine cabinet.

"I know you're big boy, sweetie. But big boys have bedtimes too. Yours is still 8:30." She handed him his Crayola toothbrush and bubblegum-flavored toothpaste. "Now brush."

Shiro grumbled as he brushed his teeth. He grumbled while he changed into his pajamas. He even grumbled when she tucked him in and kissed him goodnight. Turning off the light, Kagome smiled as he settled down in his bed and yawned.

"Good-night, birthday boy," she called softly as she closed the door halfway to let the hall light cut a blade of monster-killing purity into his dark bedroom.

Shiro yawned as he tiredly called back, "G'night Mama. Love you…"

"I love you too, sweetie," she uttered softly as she cleaned up their dinner dishes from the living room and ejected the rented disk from the DVD player she borrowed from Miranda upstairs. She'd have to return it tomorrow before she left for work.

Kagome sighed as she finally settled into bed. All the lights were off and the doors were locked. She'd washed all the dishes and set them on the rack to dry. Tomorrow, she had to get up early and get Shiro to school before going to the grocery store and then to work. "At least tomorrow's Friday…" she breathed as she drifted off to sleep.

**Hmm… This one's short too… Not as short as Coupons, but still kinda short. Oh well. These are surprisingly easy to write and they go by pretty fast. Awesome. – Hope **


	5. Work

**Adventures in Parenting **

X **Work **X

Kagome was refolding shirts in the junior boys section of JC Penny. That week's latest bubblegum pop song from the newest teen sensation was playing over the store speakers. She'd been hearing it all day and it was seriously grating on her nerves. Glancing quickly at her watch, she groaned. She still had three hours until she could clock out and pick up Shiro from daycare.

"Hey, Kaggie!" Sango, one of her closest coworkers, sing-songed as she sauntered over, weaving between racks of t-shirts and cargo pants.

Kagome smiled up at her in response, still folding shirts. Sango started folding the shirts on the other side of the stand-alone shelves. "So," she began overly cheerful. Kagome just quirked an eyebrow. What was she trying to get at with the chipper attitude and sugary-sweet tone?

"Are you going to the party at Sam's place next Saturday?"

Kagome nearly laughed. Sango was always trying to get her to go out, especially to the employee parties that seemed to take place every other weekend. It'd been going on nearly every week since she started working there and befriended the young woman.

"San, you know I can't. I can't afford a sitter for Shiro at this time of year, much less any time of year. And I'm not bringing him to Sam's house. I know about how wild his parties are. The stories get around."

Sango seemed to pout silently for a few moments. But Kagome knew better. She was just planning out her next tactic to get her out of her apartment and away from her responsibilities as a single mother.

"What about your mom? You know she would die to have Shiro all to herself for one night." Kagome was taken aback. Sango had never tried that one before… And she was surprisingly correct. Her mother had been begging to watch Shiro for a night… or four.

Sighing, Kagome nodded reluctantly. "Okay, fine. You win. I'll call my mom later and see if she'd be up to it." A wide smile spread across her friend's face. "But," Kagome cut her off from her victory dance and cheer of triumph, "I'm not going to go to every party that pops up now because my mom might want to spoil my son for a night. I barely get to spend quality time with him as it is."

Sango looked let down for a second, but her grin quickly came back full-force. "I'm just glad that I'm finally getting you out of the house, you old maid!" she crowed.

"I am not an old maid," Kagome whined, moving over to the racks to hang up clothes in their proper spots. "I'm just a dedicated mother with a six-year-old."

"You need a man," Sango decided firmly with a single nod of her head.

Kagome laughed. "You say that as if it'll solve all of my problems. I had a man. Look what happened: I got another smaller one in return. I'm done with males except for the one I gave birth to."

"Nope, I'm going to get you a new man and prove you wrong, Kags," Sango said with finality.

"Ha! That'll be the day," Kagome scoffed.

"Hey, you said the same thing when I decided I'd get you to a party. Guess where you're going in a week?" Sango pointed out with a flat stare.

"That might not even happen if my mom can't watch Shiro –"

"Which won't happen," Sango cut in. "The woman is crazy about the kid."

Kagome laughed in agreement. "She always did want grandchildren."

"Exactly, so you're going to that party. I hope you have something to wear."

Kagome glanced off to the side with a nervous laugh. She didn't have money to spend on party dresses and she really didn't get out much to own one anyway… Sango rolled her eyes, knowing that her friend didn't. "Whatever, I probably have something that you can borrow. We're about the same size anyway."

"Thanks, Sango," Kagome said softly.

She just waved it away. "It's just a dress, Kagome. But you can't tell me no on my choice for you; you'll wear what I give you and you'll like it."

Kagome shook her head. "No, not for the dress. Thanks for being a good friend and pushing this. I probably do need some time for myself that doesn't involve sleep or work."

Sango beamed brightly at her. "Oh, no problem! Everyone deserves to party it up every once in a while. You especially, Ms. Mama. You'll wear yourself out if you don't let loose and have a little fun."

Kagome just laughed and turned back to her work. Sango hung around for a bit before heading back to her register on the floor below with a wave. "I'll call you and pick you up," she called back as she trotted over to the escalator. "We can get ready at my place, yeah?"

Kagome just nodded and waved her off. Sighing softly, she shook her head with a small smile tilting the corners of her lips upward. Maybe a night out would do her some good… Glancing down at her watch once more, her smile grew. Only two and a half more hours...

**And there's number five. There's not much to say really. But my break ends soon, so the speed of the past few updates aren't going to be the norm for the future of this story. – Hope **


	6. Cupcakes

**Adventures in Parenting **

X **Cupcakes** X

"Mama, Mama!" Shiro shouted as soon as he saw her Monday afternoon. "Guess what!"

Kagome laughed and caught him as he jumped into her arms, spinning him around. She set him back down with a kiss to his cheek and took up his hand. "What?" she asked as they walked outside and down the sidewalk to the bus stop.

"Casey's mom brought cupcakes to school for his birthday today! The whole class got one during snack time!" he exclaimed with a hop and wave of his free arm for emphasis.

Kagome had to force a smile down at her son. "Oh, really? That sounds so… fun."

"It _was_!" he crowed, swinging his legs on the bench with a wide grin. "My teacher even let us stay in for recess and play a birthday game that his mom brought! It was like a birthday party at school!" His eyes grew wide and he whispered in awe, "He's so _lucky_…!"

Kagome winced and looked down the street, anxious for the bus to come so they could get home and she could distract him from Casey's birthday at school and his lack of one from a week and a half ago. Maybe if she let him eat dinner in front of the TV, he'd forget about what happened at school that day…

"Hey, Mama?" Shiro looked up from playing with his Power Ranger action figure.

"Yeah, sweetie?" Where was that bus?

"I liked my birthday a lot more."

Kagome was frozen in shock for a few moments. What the heck?! What was that supposed to mean? When she was a kid, the big birthday parties were always the best ones! What was her son thinking?

"Casey was upset most of the time his mama was there," Shiro continued to explain, playing with his red Power Ranger again. "He wasn't having fun at all. We had lots of fun on my birthday. I don't want you to bring me cupcakes on my birthday."

Shiro grimaced at the thought of being unhappy on his birthday as a result of her bringing cupcakes and games for the class. Kagome simply laughed at his six-year-old logic. Only her son would think that Casey's situation was undesirable. 'If only he'd stay that way as he gets older…' she thought sadly as the bus arrived to take them home.

**This'll probably be one of the last updates for a while. Maybe. It depends. I have some stuff to do for one of my classes over the next few days before I go back. I'm so excited! One of my best friends is coming over and we're making dinner tonight for my family. It's going to be so fun! – Hope **


	7. Mothers

**Adventures in Parenting **

X **Mothers** X

"Mom?" Kagome called as she entered the small townhouse that her mother lived in, dumping the backpack and small duffle bag she'd been toting around.

"Oh, Kagome! You're here!"

Her mother entered the front hall, drying her hands on a dishtowel. Kagome smiled and gave her a hug, inhaling the smell of brown sugar and flour. She leaned back and gave her a knowing look. "You've been making cookies!"

Mrs. Higurashi just laughed lightly and waved her into the kitchen. A tray of cookies fresh out of the oven was on the counter and when Kagome went to investigate, she found that the mixing bowl beside it still had cookie dough sticking to the sides. Scooping a piece onto her finger, she sat down at the kitchen table and happily nibbled at it.

"Where's that grandson of mine?" her mother inquired as she joined her daughter at the table with two steaming mugs.

Kagome licked her finger clean and accepted the mug of coffee. She took a sip before answering her mother's question. "He is actually at a friend's house. They set it up a few days ago and his mother offered to bring him over here when they're finished playing. They should be here in about an hour, I think."

Her mother nodded as she blew on her herbal tea. "Well, I set up Souta's room with new sheets and I'm just about to start dinner. Do you want to help?"

"Sure," she said, standing up and dusting off her jeans. "What are you making?"

"Oh, just spaghetti. The ground turkey's in the refrigerator."

They set about cooking dinner, Kagome occasionally sneaking tastes of cookie dough. Halfway through turning a wooden spoon through the tomato sauce, Kagome turned to her mother, "So, how's Souta?"

The older woman smiled and slid a pan of buttered bread into the oven to toast. "Oh, you know, busy with school. He has a girlfriend now, did you know?"

"Really?" she quirked an eyebrow in disbelief. "When did that happen?"

"Oh, about three months ago. He's been trying not to make it a big deal, but I can tell he's so excited every day. It's so cute!"

Kagome laughed. "Aw… so what's her name? What's she like? When do I get to meet her?"

"Oh, well her name's Hitomi and she's the most darling thing! The two of them together are just adorable," her mother gushed, clasping her hands together beneath her chin with a dreamy sigh. "They should be coming over tonight. But I don't know when…"

"You're already planning the wedding, aren't you?" Kagome snickered, knowing how her mother thought. As soon as she started dating when she was younger her mother was dreaming up grandchildren with her boyfriends-at-the-time's hair or eyes. Once she envisioned a little boy with her boyfriend's ears… it'd been so embarrassing when her mother had told that boyfriend this embarrassing little tidbit…

Her mother just looked away innocently and tweaked a dishtowel on the counter to cover the wedding magazine she'd been perusing earlier…

The doorbell rang and Kagome wiped her hands off on the backs of her jeans, earning a sharp look from her mother. She just waved it off as she went to answer the front door.

"Hey, Janine, thanks for watching him today," she said as she opened the door.

"Oh, no problem," Janine replied with a laugh as the two boys raced past her into the house. "He was great today, Kagome," she continued as they walked into the kitchen.

Kagome's mother was handing out cookies and sending the two boys off to play in the living room. The three women sat down at the table to chat after Kagome put the spaghetti noodles in a pot of water to cook. They talked over more mugs of coffee and tea for half an hour before Janine dragged her son away to go home with promises of more play dates later and Taco Bell for dinner.

Kagome stayed for a few more minutes to make sure dinner was prepared and that Shiro was settled in to spend the night with his grandmother and Uncle Souta. Before she left, she swooped in to give him a quick kiss on the forehead before shouldering her purse and heading out the kitchen door. Sango would be picking her up from her house in about an hour to get ready for Sam's party and she still needed to shower before she got there. She could probably tidy up a bit too…

**Sorry it's been so long… My life's been really busy. I completely shoved all writing to the back of my mind to focus on finals and the daily crap that has been happening for a while. I've actually had this written for a bit. I was going to add to it I think, but rereading it, I just decided to leave it as is. So, until next time. - Hope**


	8. Scrapes

**Adventures in Parenting **

X **Scrapes** X

A wail shattered the afternoon air into a million tiny, sparkly pieces. "MAAAAAMMAAAA!!!"

Jolting at the sound of her son's voice lobbed into her stomach like a giant baseball, Kagome scrambled up from her seat on the park bench and searched for any sign of a dark-haired little boy being attacked or in pain. Other mothers and older women that frequented the park's heads were swiveling back and forth like satellites to determine if their charges and children were the cause of another's pain. Kagome's eyes squinted against the bright glare of her son's cries of pain. There.

Running across the woodchip playground, she dipped and dodged around children and the hulking mass of plastic and metal that twisted into slides, bridges and platforms. She skid to a stop on her knees - ignoring the splintering bite on her kneecaps - beside the huddled form of her baby. Gathering him into the cradle of her arms, she shushed him softly, gently tugging at his hands.

"Sh, Shiro it's okay. Mama's here. Let me see; I'm here."

She ducked her head below his, peering up at his flushed, dewy face. Her hands worked softly over his to remove the obstruction to get to the pain. Shiro shook his head and tightened the clamp of his arms around the hurt.

Kagome exhaled and swiped the dark curtain of her hair out of the way. Her legs shifted and her arms and back tensed before she scooped him up and stood on the steady, practiced legs of a mother. She carried her son back to the bench and breezed off the concerned looks of the other women with a slight, reassuring smile. Setting him down, she knelt in front of him on the ground and rested her hands on his shoelaces.

"Let me see."

Shiro sniffled and shook his head.

"I can't fix it if you won't let me see, Shiro."

Hesitantly, he slowly unfolded to reveal a skinned knee. Tears clung to his spiked eyelashes as he stared up at her with trembling lips a snotty nose. Clucking softly in the back of her throat, Kagome kissed his crown.

"Oh, baby, I'm sorry. Did you fall?"

Shiro hiccupped and swiped the back of his wrist under his nose. "Yeah," came the tiny reply.

Kagome frowned sympathetically before standing up and helping him down off the bench. "C'mon. Let's wash this off at the drinking fountain."

With soothing fingers, she washed the dirt and debris from his scrape before rooting around in her overalls for an antibacterial wipe – which made him whine at the sting and she just nodded knowingly – and a Batman band-aide. After his wounds were bandaged and his tears dried, she pushed him on the swings for half an hour before giving him a piggyback ride to the bus stop. Shiro smiled the whole way home.

**I have a thing for Batman. And band-aides. And overalls. Put them all together and you get this… Sort of. I suppose you could say I might have a thing for gravity too since I do quite a bit of falling. Especially these days because of the skit I'm working on for church. At rehearsal on Saturday, I got pretty banged up. Which is the point. But it still hurts, even if it's just pretend… – Hope **


End file.
